Blaine couldn't sleep, he hadn't really been able to sleep since the night of the Sadie Hawkins dance, at least not unless they'd drugged him into sleep. Instead he was staring up at the ceiling, as the room got progressively darker. For a moment he shifted awkwardly to try to get more comfortable, but his broken ribs and the stitches in his side were making that a more or less impossible task. Not to mention the fact that he just couldn't get used to that hospital smell no matter how long he spent there. For a moment he contemplated trying to watch some TV, but he knew there wasn't going to be anything decent on at this hour.

Instead, he just listened to the sounds of the hospital. There were people walking quietly up and down the hallways, most likely nurses who were going about their tasks of giving people medication or making sure everyone had what they needed. The nurses here really were great, they were all very friendly and their gentle voices had soothed him through some pretty nasty memories on multiple occasions during his stay. It was strange to be so weak in front of someone he didn't really know, but he was slowly learning the different nurses' names and they were starting to feel more familiar.

It had been a week since the Sadie Hawkins dance and physically things were slowly getting a bit better. His emotional state was a completely different story. The idea of going back to the school this had happened in scared him beyond reason. There was nothing he wanted less in this world than to have to walk back through those doors. As he thought about this, a few tears trickled down his cheeks. He'd cried way too much in the last week and he had no more energy left for anything beyond that. Actually, he was surprised he even had any tears left.

Sure, he put on a brave face whenever Cooper was around, which was most of the visiting hours, but it was exhausting. It was probably very sad that he was glad when visiting hours were over so he wouldn't have to pretend to be okay anymore. He'd begged his parents to let him change schools, but so far they'd not been very understanding about it. They'd pointed out that the kids who'd done this to him had been suspended and that there was no reason to go through changing schools, but he'd never feel safe there again. The idea of having to walk through those doors ever again made him feel physically sick. For a moment he struggled with keeping the bile down, barely managing to do so, before slumping back against the pillows and letting out a desperately frustrated noise.

After what seemed like hours of staring at the ceiling feeling utterly and completely miserable, he finally drifted off into a restless sleep. It didn't take long before he was muttering in his sleep, shifting uncomfortably. At first there was a look of excitement on his face, but it didn't take long for that excitement to turn into complete and utter terror and pain. The shifting became more and more distressed as the dream took hold and trapped him in his own personal version of hell.

OoOoOoOoOo

As he looked into the mirror, Blaine smiled at himself and straightened his bowtie. As much as he was looking forward to this, he was also incredibly nervous. It was the night of the Sadie Hawkins dance, and he was going with the only other openly gay guy at the school. They were only going as friends of course, there were no romantic feelings between the two of them, they were just trying to prove the point that you should be allowed to go with whoever you want to, no matter if that someone is a girl or a guy and of course regardless of your own gender.

Yes, he was aware that this may be a dangerous stunt to pull, there was so much hate for the two of them at the school already, but part of him hoped with all his heart that they'd be allowed to show up, dance together and have fun like everyone else without being bothered by anyone. For a moment he just closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting himself believe that such a thing would be possible.

The doorbell rang downstairs and his heart started racing, nervousness setting in once more. Hastily he stuffed his phone into his pocket, along with his keys and wallet before heading down the stairs to greed Brian. "Hey!" he said happily and sent the guy a smile. "Hey Blaine! You look great!" Brian replied warmly and gave him a hug. "You don't look so bad yourself Brian" he replied as they walked to the car. There was a moment of silence as they both settled into the seats and buckled up.

"Are you ready for this?" Brian asked him in a quiet voice. Blaine started at him for a moment with those big hazel eyes and then sighed a little. "Honestly? I'm not sure, it's a little intimidating, but I think it's about time we make a point." He answered thoughtfully. Brian just nodded a little in agreement before pulling out of the driveway and heading in the direction of the school. Again silence settled down between the two boys as they both nervously stared out the window.

Once they reached the parking lot of the school, they stepped out of the car and just took each other's hands. There was nothing wrong with taking comfort in holding hands. They were just friends, but they were comfortable enough that they could comfort each other without feeling awkward about it. Then, taking one collective deep breath, they looked at each other and started walking towards the school.

A nervous smile was covering both their faces as they walked through the doors to the gym. Blaine wasn't sure what he expected exactly, maybe he expected to instantly get attacked or something, but no one seemed to pay them any mind and their shoulders relaxed just a little as they looked around the room. After getting some punch they both headed out to the dance floor.

For the first half of the dance the two of them had a blast. Blaine was beginning to think that maybe, just maybe this hadn't been such a bad idea after all. No one had bothered them all night, and they were actually laughing and chatting just like everyone else. The smile on his face was constant and the sparkle in his eyes showed just how happy he was about the current situation and the fact that they were being left alone. Brian had the same smile on his face as they danced to one of the quicker songs of the night. When the song finished Blaine felt like he was melting and he was more than a little out of breath. "I'm going to go get some air Brian. Do you want to come or are you staying here?" Brian just smiled at him. "I'll stay here, I'll see you in a bit Blaine"

Once he'd gotten the answer he needed, Blaine headed out the gym doors and headed down the hall towards the exit. A happy sigh left him as the cool air gusted against his face. There was a little bit of a breeze and it felt incredibly amazing against his flushed skin. As he wandered slowly across the lawns outside the front of the school, a happy smile rested on his lips. Things were going incredibly well and he couldn't believe how nice it felt.

There were steps behind him and another smile rested on his lips as he turned around, only to face the group of boys he least wanted to deal with. "Well well well, look who it is." a cold voice said. Blaine could hear his own heart beat loudly in his ears, making everything else sound like it's coming from under water. "What do you want?" he managed to say, sounding at least semi confident in his inquiry. "Why don't you just leave me alone and go back inside to your dates?"

The cold laugh that followed his suggestion made a chill crawl up his spine and goose bumps break out on his skin. There was a danger in that voice, that promised so much more than cruel words and being showed into a locker. Part of him tried to be strong and stand up for himself, but at the same time he was frozen to the spot in utter terror, this was going to go wrong and there wasn't anything he could really do about it.

Slowly he started backing up, away from the guys blocking his way to the doors and the safety of the school. The safety of the school? He'd never thought he'd think of the school as somewhere safe, but the warm light streaming out of the windows seemed a lot safer than the darkness outside. The group walked towards him a few steps, which just made him continue to back up towards the tree. Suddenly his back hit something hard, and he froze, there was nowhere to go, and the group of guys was closing in on him.

"Oh look at the little homo!" the taunting voice said coldly. "Looks like he's about to piss his pants" The words cut into him like knives, and it took everything he had not to start shaking. The group closed in on him, blocking any chance of escape completely. Not that he could have moved even if he'd had a way out. His legs felt like they were made of lead and he was frozen to the spot. 'This is it… I'm going to die.' he thought desperately.

The first punch hit him full force and knocked the air out of his lungs, making him fold over double as his lungs burned with the effort of trying to catch a breath. Something collided hard with his face and he let out a whimper as his knees gave in, making him fall to the ground. The blows didn't stop, and all he could do was curl up and bring his arms up around his head to protect his head. It didn't do much good as blow after blow was felt all over his body. Every part of him ached, and the laughter from the group of boys filled the air.

Tears streamed down his face as he coughed, spluttered and whimpered. The blows were completely unyielding and it felt like the hell he'd been tossed into would never end. After a while, all he could do was lie there, allowing the group to do whatever they wanted, there was no more fight in him. At some point the relentless blows ceased, and silence settled over the school grounds. His head was spinning and he was in so much pain he couldn't even form a coherent thought. And that's when everything went dark.

OoOoOoOoOo

The whimpers and horrible pained noises from the dream spilled over into reality as he tossed and turned in his sleep. As everything went dark, he jolted awake in his dark hospital room, his heart racing. For a while he could feel everything aching the way it had when he'd first woken up in the hospital, but as his mind came back to the present, the pain dulled to the softer and less invading pain that lingered in his body. More sleep wasn't an option and he painfully pushed himself up into a seated position. His ribs ached as he moved, but the movement was a little comforting non-the less. It reminded him that he was alive and on his way to recovery.

Sighing a little he listened to the noises of the hospital again. The corridors seemed to be quiet now. It was late enough to where most of the patients would be asleep and so there weren't as many nurses running around. In the silence that enveloped him it was difficult not to allow the images and emotions from the dream invade his mind. It hurt more than he could even begin to explain. It wasn't even the physical pain that seemed to be the main issue, it the fact that this had happened to him just because he couldn't get himself to like girls. It happened because he refused to be anything other than himself.

After a while in silence, he heard distant sobbing. It must be one of the other patients or something? It was most likely one of the ones in the next room, since sounds like that wouldn't carry that far. The person sounded so desperate and so completely broken. It broke his heart to listen to it. Strictly speaking, he wasn't supposed to be moving around on his own, but there was something about that sound that made him ache to at least try to comfort whoever it was.

He couldn't quite tell whether or not it was a boy or a girl, but it didn't really matter. Whoever it was clearly needed someone, and since it was way after visiting hours, there wasn't anyone else, unless the person wanted to talk to one of the nurses. After listening for a moment longer he finally decided it was time to just do what his instincts told him to, so he slowly pushed himself up so he could place his legs on the floor. Everything hurt, but it wasn't so bad that he couldn't ignore it.

His legs felt a little weak as he tried to take a step forward. There was one of those walkers sitting next to his bed, it was mainly meant to be used if he had to go to the bathroom, but it would do well enough for this purpose as well. Once he was on his feet and feeling like he wasn't about to fall over, he tentatively took a step to test whether or not he thought he'd make it to the next room. Even heading for the bathroom was an ordeal most of the time, and he hadn't really moved there without the support of a nurse yet, but there was a desperate need in his heart to find the person who was crying.

Moving down the hall was a slow and painful ordeal, but at least he wasn't hooked up to any machines anymore, so he could move freely without having to worry about dragging any kind of hospital equipment along. When he finally reached the door to the room the crying was coming from, he was about ready to fall over from exhaustion. It had been a week; how come moving around was making him so exhausted? It hadn't been that long. Slowly he reached his hand out and knocked gently on the door. He wasn't going to wander in there and invade this person's privacy without permission. That would not only be rude and improper of him, but it would be a little mean. Not everyone wanted to let people know they weren't handing whatever was bothering them well, he was one of those people himself, considering he was even trying to hide how badly he was reacting to his own experiences for his own brother. Nothing could excuse not giving other people the same courtesy as he wished people would give him.

OoOoOoOoOo

Kurt had been crying for what seemed like hours. Sleep had been hard to come by, and he was so worried about his dad, yet no one would allow him to get out of bed so he could go see him. The worst thing about it all was that no one could really tell him anything good. His father was in a coma and there was no telling when or if he was ever going to wake back up. As things were, they were critical but stable, this was something that could change in an instant and not necessarily for the better.

The thought that he might lose his father was way too much to handle. He'd lost his mother years ago, and that had almost been unbearable. Even now he still ached at the thought of not seeing her again. In fact, he still had one of her sweaters tucked away in his nightstand and a small bottle of the perfume she'd used sitting in the drawer with it. Whenever he was having a bad day, he'd bring the sweater out and just clutch it to his chest, taking in the smell that was his mother. Whenever the smell faded too much, he'd carefully bring out the small perfume bottle and spray it once onto the fabric. The bottle was running low, but he'd managed to make it last this long by being very careful about how much he used. He wasn't sure if it was possible to find the same scent in the stores anymore. The idea of not even having his dad was just way too much for him to handle.

As much as he wanted to sobs to stop and as exhausted as he was, he couldn't keep them back. His whole body shook at every sob and the sound filled the room. The fact that someone might hear him, or that he might be keeping someone else awake didn't even cross his mind. Nothing and no one other than his father seemed important at this point in time.

Suddenly there was a quiet knocking sound. Who would be knocking at his door at this time of the night? His mind immediately went to the nurses, but they usually only checked on him once every few hours if he didn't puss the little button to call them to him, and the nurse this evening had been there only about half an hour before. He'd pretended to be sleeping when she'd stopped by, so she'd gone on her way and left him alone. For a moment he just laid there, taking a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself down before wiping at his face to no avail.

At least he managed to quiet his sobs down a little. While his shoulders still shook in silent sobs every so often, maybe it would be enough to convince whoever was there that he was fine. Having taken his time to try to calm himself, he almost thought the person on the other side of the door had gone away, but just as he was about to give up on his self control and start sobbing again, there was another quiet knock on the door. "Yeah? The door's open…" he said, trying to sound like his own sarcastic self, but it sounded weak and pathetic as his voice quivered and broke at the end of the sentence.

-TBC-